Sapphires
by Katheryne B
Summary: Elaine of Tarth sails to King's Landing with 300 Gold Dragon in order to try to bring her sister home.
1. The Other maid of Tarth

It was a beautiful day on Tarth.

Elaine, the second daughter of Lord Selwyn of Tarth was looking out on the open water; her mind absently drifting to thoughts of her sister: Brienne.

"_Brienne where are you?"_ she thought.

It had been months since they had heard of Renly Baratheon's death and still no word from Brienne. Elaine opened her book and retrieved her sister's last letter. In it, she said the she had won in a great Melee and had defeated Ser Loras Tyrell; the knight of Flowers.

_He fought hard but I bet him anyway. I wish you and father could have been there to see it._

The thought of Loras Tyrell losing to her sister made Elaine smile.

Brienne was two years older than Elaine and they had always been very close; even more so after Galladon's death.

_I was granted a place among King Renly's Kingsguard. And soon, we will ride to battle and retake King's Landing. Then you and father will be able to come see me._

_Rest assured I am well._

_All my love, your sister_

_Brienne._

Elaine fought back her tears as she read the last paragraph. She was then disturbed by the sound of uncoming footsteps.

"Yes Roster what is it?" she asked the servant

"Milady..." he started "Milady, you should know that a raven just came for Selwyn. He went straight to his library and has not come out. He asked not to be disturbed on any account"

"Thank you."

Elaine dropped her book and almost ran to the library; for her father would not have barricaded himself in the library it was good news.

* * *

Elaine didn't even knock; she just entered. Lord Selwyn was sitting at his desk, a parchment laid before him.

"What news father?" asked Elaine

"Read for yourself" he answered. Elaine took the parchment and read.

_To Lord Selwyn of Tarth,_

_We, the brave companions of Westeros hold prisoner your daughter Brienne of Tarth in our custody. If you wish to see her alive and unspoiled you will pay her weight in Sapphires._

"Sapphires?" said Elaine, dropping the parchment "Do these men even know Tarth. We do not have any sapphires."

"I know that." Said Lord Selwyn "I will offer the three hundred gold Dragons for her safe return yet I fear it won't be enough"

"Brienne is strong father." Said Elaine, trying to be reassuring. "I'm sure she will find her way home. She always does."

* * *

1 month later.

It was early when Elaine entered the dining room to break her fast. Her father was already there; he looked gloomed.

"Any news father?" she asked

"None." he asnwered "I fear the worst now." Said Lord Selwyn. Elaine could see he was holding back his tears; it made Elaine's heart ache.

"Maybe…Maybe if we went to King's Landing." She said, kneeling next to her father "From there, we could rally with the Lannister. Word is they have The Kingslayer, surely if this is true, Tywin Lannister would offer a great deal of money for his return as well."

Elaine then saw her father's face lighting up a little.

"I will write to Lord Tywin."

"Father, writing won't do." Said Elaine "I mean; time is our worst enemy right now."

"I cannot go King's Landing, you know that." Said Lord Selwyn

It was true. Lord Selwyn's health prevented him from travelling away from Tarth for long periods of time.

"I will go." Said Elaine, standing up. "I will go to King's Landing, I will talk to Lord Tywin in your stead and I will bring Brienne home. I promise father."

Lord Selwyn brought his hand to his daughter's face.

"The gods really have blessed me with the two best daughters a father could wish for." He said proudly.

The next morning, Elaine of Tarth was sailing to King's landing on Lord Selwyn's fastest ship.

* * *

The journey to the capital had been swift.

Elaine had never been to capital. In her youth, she had spent a few years at Highgarden but nothing more. It was so different from the Reach…And from Tarth.

She was escorted to the Red keep and quickly demanded to see the Hand of the King.

"Who should we announce?" asked a servant.

"Elaine of Tarth, Daughter of Lord Selwyn."

The man disappeared…And Elaine waited.

When she was finally let in, Elaine met a tall man.

Her father had advised her to be careful around Tywin Lannister; saying he was the most powerful man in Westeros. But Elaine was not afraid.

She may not wield a sword or fight like her sister did but Elaine had her own strengths.

"Lady Elaine." Said Tywin Lannister

"Lord Hand"

"Please, sit down." He said "You're father is well I hope?"

"He is. But his health forces him to stay on Tarth, thus my presence here in the capital." Said Elaine

Tywin simply nodded.

"My Lord, I come here on the behalf of my father asking for your assistance in retrieving my sister, Brienne of Tarth, who's been captured but the Brave Companions."

At the sound of the name of the company, Twyin's head shot up

"Go on." He said

"It is my understanding that they also have captive your own son, Ser Jaime Lannister."

"That is correct."

"My Lord, my father had promised three hundred gold dragons in exchange for the safe return of my sister, yet no answer has reached us." Said Elaine "I fear Tarth is of little consequence to many."

"It shouldn't be." Said Tywin

No indeed, thought Elaine to herself; knowing that Tarth was a very strategic point between Westeros and Essos.

"And how could I assist you in that manner?"

"Well, I believe that your name might force them to act. If you were to offer the reward, then perhaps my sister would be returned." Said Elaine "And your son as well."

By then, Tywin Lannister had gotten up from his chair and was knowing pouring himself a glass of wine. He offered one to Elaine. She accepted it only to be polite. Tarth had, after all, declared for Renly during the battle of the five Kings.

"Tell me, Lady Elaine, Tarth had declared for Renly Baratheon during the war?" asked Tywin

"That is correct My Lord."

For a moment, Elaine thought it was over, that The Hand would not help them…and that Brienne's faith would be left to the gods.

"I must say I admire your courage." Said Tywin "Coming all the way here for your sister. Yet I cannot help you."

Elaine let out a long sight and before she could speak, Tywin spoke again

"I cannot help you for my men have already rescued my son and your sister and are on their way to the Capital." He said "Though, I would advise to give the reward to my men all the same since word had reach that there was a price for Lady Brienne's return."

"Of course." Said Elaine "I agree with you. Perhaps, you would be so kind as to send for me upon their return? For I believe word will reach you first."

"Of course." Said Tywin Lannister, whilst standing up. "In the meantime, it would my honor if you would stay here at the keep for the King's wedding which will part take soon."

"That is very generous of you My Lord."

"Please send my regards to your father."

"I will." Said Elaine "Thank you, Lord Hand."

Elaine turned around and left the hand's quarters with a smile on her face.

Her sister was coming home.

* * *

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	2. Brienne the Beauty

Living in the capital was boring. Elaine wondered around the gardens aimlessly. Of course, the grounds were beautiful but something was amiss for Elaine's taste. The capital was a real unhappy place. She couldn't wait to go home the minute Brienne would arrive here in King's Landing. Elaine was about to head back but suddenly, a loud voice caught her attention.

"Elaine!" she heard

It was Margery Tyrell. Elaine had forgotten that she was marrying King Joffrey. Elaine liked to think that she and Margery had been friends for a while…when she lived at Highgarden.

"Elaine it is so good to see you. I didn't know you were in the capital." said Margery

"It was a sudden thing." Said Elaine. "I came on behalf of father to ask Tywin Lannister's assistance in bringing Brienne home. She is captive with Jaime Lannister somewhere."

"So I've heard" said Margery "Come!" she added "Come meet my friend."

Margery was almost pulling Elaine's arm out as they were walking towards a gazebo near the gardens.

"This is my friend, Sansa Star…I mean, Sansa Lannister. Sansa, this is my friend Elaine of Tarth."

"It's an honor to make your acquaintance Lady of Tarth." Said Sansa

"As it is mine Lady Lannister."

Elaine saw the girl wince at the sound of her name.

"Forgive me; I did not know that Tywin Lannister had remarried." Said Elaine.

Horror suddenly struck the poor girl.

"Sansa is Tyrion Lannister's wife" said Margery

"Oh." Said Elaine. "I'm very sorry, I did not know."

"It's all right. Please, call me Sansa."

Elaine smiled. "Only if you call me Elaine."

The three girls talked and laughed while sharing a light snack. The conversation went on and on...

"Now, what about you?" Said Margery to Elaine. "Still unmarried; the beautiful maid of Tarth. I can scarcely believe it."

The sound of that sentenced actually made Elaine wince a little. She hated it when people called her the beautiful maid of Tarth. For people used the word beautiful to differentiate her from her sister. Men had always been cruel to her sister and Elaine the majority of them for it.

"I'm damaged goods Margery, you know that." Said Elaine plainly "And I have nothing. Everything goes to Brienne when father dies so…"

"Nonsense!" said Margery "If I remarried, you will defiantly find someone. We'll have to fix that, won't we Sansa?"

Elaine just smiled in returned. The last thing she needed was to talk about marriage.

* * *

A few more days passed before any news reached King's Landing, but at length they came.

It was way passed mid-day when she heard it.

"_The Kingslayer! The Kingslayer has returned!"_

Elaine's heart skipped a beat when she realised what it meant. She abandoned what she was doing and ran as fast as she could to the gates of the keep; running as fast as she could. As she was getting closer, she could see a blond figure. A figure she had known all her life.

"Brienne!" screamed Elaine.

As Brienne's head shot up, Elaine ran towards her sister and nearly jumped into her arms.

* * *

Ser Jaime Lannister was completely shocked at the sight before his eyes. A young woman had come out of nowhere and jumped into Brienne's arms.

"I was so worried sister." Jaime heard

_Sister? Brienne had a sister?_

Lord Selwyn's daughters could not have been more different, thought Jaime

While Brienne was extremely tall and imposing, her sister (so he had come to understand) had a much slenderer figure. She was tall, taller than average but not as tall as Brienne. She had the same straw-colored hair, but it was long and wavy. Jaime wondered if Brienne's hair would be like that if she didn't kept it so short. But they had one thing in common that made it impossible for anyone to doubt if they were not siblings: the eyes. Both of them had the same pair of large blue eyes.

"By the Gods what have they done to you?" he heard the shorted girl say.

"Not now." Said Brienne. "There is time for this later. Elaine this is Ser Jaime Lannister." added Brienne . "Jaime, this is my sister Elaine."

"It's an honor to make your acquaintance Ser Jaime." Said Elaine.

Jaime simply nodded.

"If you will excuse me." He said. Then he left.

But it was enough for Elaine to see his stump.

* * *

"So that's where the sapphires came from." Said Elaine, after listening to part of her sister's story. "I knew it was not you who had suggested it."

"No indeed." Said Brienne. "He paid a heavy price for it."

"Oh sister." Said Elaine, sitting next to Brienne. "You cannot keep on blaming yourself for everything you were unable to prevent."

"They cut off his hand Elaine! His sword hand! All because he prevented them to rape me!" said Brienne "Nothing worst for a warrior than to lose the ability to hold your sword."

"No one deserves this. And then they, threw you in a pit to fight a bear." Said Elaine "I hope Tywin Lannister has them all executed."

"What's done is done." Said Brienne

"What's done is done?" said Elaine "Brienne, our father is a noble Lord of this country. You didn't deserve to be treated like this…And neither did he."

"Well it's over now. I have more important things to think of. I have a promise to keep."

Elaine gave a wondering look to her sister.

"When Renly was assassinated, I pledged myself to Lady Catelyn Stark. She asked me to bring Jaime back to King's Landing and bring back her daughters Arya and Sansa back to her." Said Brienne.

"I was going to until they captured us."

Elaine didn't know anything about an Arya Stark but she definitely knew Sansa.

"Sansa Stark?" asked Elaine "You mean, Sansa Lannister?"

* * *

Brienne was walking so fast than Elaine had a hard time following her. They finally arrived at the end of the gardens, near the Godswood, where Elaine had said she had seen Sansa a few times.

"There." Said Elaine "That's her. Sansa Lannister."

There was no mistaken, thought Brienne. She was Lady Catelyn's spitting image.

_All this time…_

Then Brienne turned around and walked away; completely ignoring her sister's questions…

"Brienne where are you going?"

* * *

**There you go everyone! Thanks to those who reviewed. it is always appreciated.**


	3. The mind and the sword

**Hello!**

**I wanted to thank everyone for their nice comments and welcome all the new followers.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry it took some time to update…I was on vacation.**

**Cheers! Cath**

* * *

When Brienne came back to same spot her sister had previously shown her, she was not alone. She had dragged Jaime with her. All night it had bothered her that Sansa was here in King's Landing. The worst part was that she married to a Lannister. Lady Catelyn had charged her to protect them from that family and now it would be impossible. Well, not if Jaime did his part of the bargain.

"By the Gods Brienne, where are we going?" asked Jaime…almost complaining.

Finally, Brienne stopped and said:

"There she is." She was pointing at Sansa Stark.

"Yes there she is…and?"

"You made a promise."

"To return the Stark girls to their mother; who is now dead."

"To keep them safe."

"Well…." Started Jaime "Well, Arya Stark hasn't been seen since her father was killed. Where do you think she is? My money is on dead. There is a certain security in dead wouldn't you say? And Sansa Stark is now, Sansa Lannister. Bit of complication; don't you think?"

"Complications do not release you from a vow." Answered Brienne dryly

"What do want me to do? Kidnap my sister-in-law? Where would she be safe? Where would she be other than here?"

Brienne wanted to scream.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you really believe she will be safe here in King's Landing."

Brienne could see that Jaime was searching for a response, and clearly nothing came to mind. Instead, he just looked down for a few seconds then gave her an intense look.

"Are you sure we are not related?" asked Jaime

Brienne let out a loud sign. _Really? Really? _She though

"Since my return every Lannister has been a miserable pain in my ass. You have the hair for it…but not the looks."

By the gods she could strangle him sometimes. And other times…well others times she actually quite liked him. Brienne actually believed Jaime changed ever since their capture by the brave companions. For goodness sake he had returned to save her from the bear pit.

Jaime turned away to leave but stopped mid-way to face her again.

"Your sister, on the other hand, does have the looks." He said with smirk. "A sister that you never mentioned before. Really Brienne, I'm hurt, after all we've been through."

Brienne walked past him. "We all have things we want to keep private." She said, Jaime following her.

"Yes, I'm sure." He said "She seems very nice." He added "Nicer than you I might say."

"She is."

Jaime laughed.

"Shut up…you know what I meant." Said Brienne

* * *

**A few days later**.

By the Gods this is so hard, thought Jaime to himself as Bronn, Tyrion's sellsword friend was charging at him.

This was a bad idea. He should never have accepted Tyrion's idea. He should just practice by himself away from everyone. And the worst was that he had to pay him. Jaime tried a few times to spin his sword in his left hand. It was heavier than he thought.

Then Bronn had made him change swords. A sparring sword. A fucking sparring sword. The last time he had used that he was nine years old.

And so they sparred. Or at least Bronn did. Jaime tried his best and it wasn't really pretty.

At one point, Jaime had enough. But Bronn kept charging him. It was only then, that a mass of sand blond hair caught his eye. He recognized that hair, he had seen it far too long these past months.

* * *

Elaine sat on a rock ledge, watching Ser Jaime and some man, fighting. It made her think of her sister and the story she had told her last night; the one where Brienne bet Ser Jaime on a bridge before their capture. It must have been a sight to see.

And then she had told her about Vaggo Hoat…And Jaime's hand. Gods, Elaine wasn't a knight but her sister was one. She could feel Brienne's sadness as she told the story.

"It's really impolite to spy on people." Said a voice behind her making her come out of her thoughts.

"I wasn't spying." Said Elaine " Spying, implies that one is hiding and watching…I was only watching." Said Elaine. It was, in fact, Ser Jaime himself. He was far more decent looking now. He was actually quite good looking.

"I'm afraid we haven't met properly." He said. "Jaime Lannister." He said, while extending his hand.

"Elaine of Tarth," she said, taking his hand in hers. "I've heard a lot about you Ser Jaime."

"And I…Well nothing really. I didn't even know you existed."

"Ah, well maybe you should have listened to your maesters teaching's during your lessons."

"Brienne never said she had a sister."

"We had a brother as well…Once upon a time." Said Elaine

Gods, how much did Brienne actually kept private, though Jaime.

"So, are you here to teach me a lesson as well? Although, I must confess, I'm not sure if you could."

It was true; Elaine was not as muscular as Brienne. She was tall, had broad shoulders but nothing more.

"Well we all have our strengths and abilities." Said Elaine "Life would be to boring if we were all the same."

"And what is yours?" asked Jaime "Archery? The Bravosi sword perhaps?"

"Gods no. I leave all the physical stuff to my sister. I have no interest for it whatsoever." Said Elaine

"I'm more of a book person. The mind can be stronger than the sword. And a good swordsman knows how to use both."

That comment made Jaime think of Tyrion. It was the sort of answer he would sometimes give. Then, a snort brought them back to reality. It was Bronn. Jaime had forgotten about him. Elaine turned her head a little to face the sellsword and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh beg your pardon Missy." He said "Ser Bronn, of the Blackwater." He added, bowing to her.

"No doubt of the great house of Blackwater." Said Elaine.

Jaime had to control his laughter.

"I have been knighted for my great courage on the battlefield yes."

Elaine simply nodded.

"Well, My Lords" she said exaggerating the word _Lords_. "I must find my sister now. If you would excuse me." She said

Both Jaime and Bronn moved aside to let her pass. Once she had walked away a little from their position, Jaime heard Bronn clear his throat…

"I like her" said Bronn.

Somehow, Jaime didn't like that fact.


End file.
